23-12-13

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour M. Hersh has written a detailed and devastating exposure of the U.S. government’s manipulation of military intelligence to create a pretext for the war it very nearly unleashed against Syria last September.

Hersh’s main conclusion is that President Barack Obama and many in his administration “omitted important intelligence … presented assumptions as facts … [and] failed to acknowledge something known to the U.S. intelligence community: that the Syrian army is not the only party in the … war with access to sarin.”

Hersh gained worldwide fame for exposing the My Lai massacre and cover-up in Vietnam in 1969. His 2004 articles detailed the systematic torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq directed by the U.S. military, the CIA and private contractors.

This latest article, published in the London Review of Books on Dec. 8, utilizes current and former intelligence sources to whom Hersh has a long history of access. Classified documents going back months before the Aug. 21 sarin attack outside Damascus, Syria, show that the U.S. government concluded that the al-Nusra Front, a major force in the Syrian rebel movement, had “mastered the mechanics of creating sarin … in quantity.” Yet in his Sept. 10 televised speech, President Obama insisted that the Syrian government was responsible and that only they had sarin capabilities.

Some high-level intelligence officers went to Hersh about this misuse of intelligence. One compared it to the fraudulent Gulf of Tonkin incident that was used to justify widespread bombing of north Vietnam in 1964. “Obama … and his cronies in the White House make up the intelligence as they go along,” stated one officer.

By selective reporting, some major U.S. media also collaborated with the Obama game plan of deception. Nine days after the Aug. 21 incident, the administration delivered a document making the case for Syrian government culpability to a handpicked group of journalists. The Washington Post gave front-page coverage to how the U.S. traced every step of the attack, linking it to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

When the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was forced to issue a correction days later, the Washington Post chose not to reveal this to its readers.

Similarly, the New York Times made use of a Sept. 16 United Nations report to claim that the munitions, the flight path and the length of the rocket flight conclusively implicated the Syrian army as the source of the sarin attack. The report itself, however, warned that the rebel controlled area allowed the evidence to be “possibly manipulated.”

When Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of science, technology and international security Theodore Postol and missile technology expert Richard M. Lloyd later concluded that calculations of the flight path and range could not be as earlier reported, the New York Times failed to report this.

Photo: Heartbreaking portraits of Vietnamese children suffering from devastating effects of toxic herbicide sprayed by US Army 40 years ago. Three decades after the United States started destroying its own chemical weapons, the nation’s stockpile stands at more than 3,000 tons — about three times what the U.S. now says Syrian President Bashar Assad controls. A total of 20 million gallons of dioxin-containing herbicide was sprayed by U.S. aircraft on at least 10 percent of what was once South Vietnam over 3.6 million acres, much of it populated, even heavily populated.

06-12-13

The international organization's director-general, Ahmet Uzumcu, said in The Hague, Netherlands, that the U.S. government will contribute "a destruction technology, full operational support and financing to neutralize" Syria's chemical weapons — most likely on a ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The weapons are to be removed from Syria by Dec. 31.

Separately, the woman appointed as go-between for the United Nations and the OPCW on destroying Syria's chemical weapons stockpile laid out some logistical details. Sigrid Kaag said the weapons will first be sealed and packaged and then transported from multiple sites within Syria to the country's largest port, Latakia. Then they will be loaded onto ships owned by other OPCW members before a second hand-off to U.S. vessels.

31-10-13

The Hague/Beijing (SANA) - Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday said that Syria has destroyed all production and mixing equipment of the declared chemical weapons facilities within the time limit set for eliminating the chemical weapons.

OPWC teams inspected 21 sites out of 23 of chemical weapons sites all over the country, the organization said in a document seen by Reuters.

The Organization clarified that the other two sites cannot be checked but their equipment were transferred into other sites where they were inspected.

OPWC said it made sure that production, mixing and filling facilities and equipment of the 23 announced sites were destroyed.

Last week, the organization stressed that Syria was committed to the time limit set for getting rid of the chemical weapons.

In Washington, the U.S. expressed confidence in the possibility of respecting the specified time limits to eliminate the chemical weapons in Syria, which means in June 2014, said Thomas Countryman, the Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation.

United Nations: OPCW-UN Joint mission coordinates efforts with Russia

The UN Secretary General’s Spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, said on Thursday that the coordinator of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW)-UN mission to Syria, Sigrid Kaag, intends to coordinate efforts with Russia to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons.

Russia Today website quoted Nesirky as saying in a statement that the aim of Kaag visit to Moscow is to coordinate the efforts with Russia, an important country that has large experience in eliminating chemical weapons.

In a statement last week, Kaag affirmed that the Syrian government is completely cooperating with the experts’ team, appreciating the Syrian government and people for this cooperation.

Chinese experts will participate in OPCW mission in Syria

In the same context, Chinese Defense Ministry announced Thursday that two Chinese army experts will participate in the mission of destroying the chemical weapons in Syria.

The Ministry’s spokesman Yang Yujun said the Ministry will send two Chinese experts to the headquarters of the OPCW upon the latter’s invitation, who will then head to Syria to join the mission.

Quoted by the Chinese Xinhua news agency, Yang noted that the Chinese army will provide assistance to the mission within its capabilities and that this assistance will be subject to the arrangements set by the Chinese government.

From 1961 to 1971, approximately 19 million gallons of chemical agents including Agent Orange, were sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. Much of it was contaminated with dioxin, a deadly chemical. Dioxin causes various forms of cancers, reproductive illnesses, immune deficiencies, endocrine deficiencies, nervous system damage, and physical and developmental disabilities.

So while the US government is attempting to “police the world” in search of chemical weapons, it is important to remember the long history that they have of using these weapons themselves.

US Government refuses to compensate victims of chemical weapons in Vietnam.

United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, against post-revolutionary Iran, included several billion dollars worth of economic aid, the sale of dual-use technology, non-U.S. origin weaponry, military intelligence, Special Operations training, and direct involvement in warfare against Iran.

Support from the U.S. for Iraq was not a secret and was frequently discussed in open session of the Senate and House of Representatives. On June 9, 1992, Ted Koppel reported on ABC's Nightline, "It is becoming increasingly clear that George Bush, operating largely behind the scenes throughout the 1980s, initiated and supported much of the financing, intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the power it became", and "Reagan/Bush administrations permitted—and frequently encouraged—the flow of money, agricultural credits, dual-use technology, chemicals, and weapons to Iraq."

Photo: 1980s. Carlos Cardoen, arms dealer to Iraq and former friend of the U.S. government, meets with former Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein.

Mass spectrometry analysis conducted by the New Weapons Research Group (NWRG) found aluminium, titanium, strontium, barium, cobalt and mercury in biopsies taken from white phosphorus wounds at Shifaa Hospital, Gaza. (Aluminium, barium and mercury have potential for lethal and intoxicating effects; aluminium and mercury can cause chronic pathologies over time; mercury is carcinogenic for humans; cobalt can cause mutations; and aluminium is fetotoxic, i.e. injurious to foetuses.)

White phosphorus bombs are built with alternating sectors of white phosphorus and aluminium. Analysis by NWRC of the powder from a shell near Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza also found high levels of molybdenum, tungsten and mercury. Tungsten and mercury are carcinogenic, while molybdenum is toxic to sperms.

In a report appropriately entitled “Gaza Strip, soil has been contaminated due to bombings: population in danger”, NWRG also conducted analyses of two craters caused by bombs in 2006 and two others by bombs in 2009. In the 2006 craters they identified tungsten, mercury and molybdenum, while in the 2009 craters at Tufah they discovered molybdenum, cadmium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and zinc. Cadmium and some nickel and manganese compounds are carcinogenic.

NWRG has further conducted research of hair samples from 95 children resident in heavily bombed areas of Gaza. Again using mass spectrometry the study identified the carcinogenic or toxic metals chromium, cadmium, cobalt, tungsten and uranium. One wounded individual also had unusually high levels of lead. The study found the results alarming and considered the levels could be pathogenic in situations of chronic exposure.

27-10-13

President Barroso expressed the European Commission’s sincere congratulations to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2013:“The decision of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is a powerful recognition of the important role of the OPCW in curbing the use of chemical weapons. The EU is determined to assist in the destruction of the stock of chemical weapons. About 100 years ago, during World War I,Europe has experienced the suffering caused by the use of chemical weapons itself.Syria now demonstrates that these abhorrent acts are still not eradicated from human behaviour. The OPCW faces an unprecedented challenge in its current effort in Syria, where its joint mission with the United Nations is being actively supported by the European Union. The international community carries a collective responsibility to end the use of chemical weapons once and for all. The OPCW plays a key role in this collective effort, which the European Union fully supports, politically and by being the biggest contributor to OPCW (…)”.

US Government Refuses to Compensate Victims of Chemical Weapons in Vietnam

More than 30 years after the war in Vietnam, a battle is still being fought to help people suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. Many of the families living in the remote villages have little access to medical care and don’t even understand the medical term for the disability that their children have had since birth. They only know that the herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam war called Agent orange caused this and the government gives monthly support of about $8 dollars per handicapped individual . Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S military sprayed nearly 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides across Vietnam in an attempt to kill vegetation that hid the enemy. Much of it contained the toxic nerve gas called dioxin.

So while the US government is attempting to “police the world” in search of chemical weapons, it is important to remember the long history that they have of using these weapons themselves.

There are also many US veterans who suffer from agent orange poisoning, causing thousands of birth defects in America as well. Just recently the veterans began to receive compensation for their suffering, however the millions in Vietnam who are effected will likely never see any kind of real help from the agencies responsible.

President Barroso expressed the European Commission’s sincere congratulations to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2013:“The decision of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is a powerful recognition of the important role of the OPCW in curbing the use of chemical weapons. The EU is determined to assist in the destruction of the stock of chemical weapons. About 100 years ago, during World War I,Europe has experienced the suffering caused by the use of chemical weapons itself.Syria now demonstrates that these abhorrent acts are still not eradicated from human behaviour. The OPCW faces an unprecedented challenge in its current effort in Syria, where its joint mission with the United Nations is being actively supported by the European Union. The international community carries a collective responsibility to end the use of chemical weapons once and for all. The OPCW plays a key role in this collective effort, which the European Union fully supports, politically and by being the biggest contributor to OPCW (…)”.

Nguyen Nguc Phuong is 33 years of age and a confident, articulate public speaker – comfortable on a podium in front of an audience. He is resourceful and self-motivated, as seen in his decision to leave school at 16 and relocate to Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, to learn to be a mechanic and an electrician.Nguyen later returned to his hometown of Danang, one of Vietnam’s touristy cities, and opened his own repair shop. However, after seeing the impact of Agent Orange – a defoliant sprayed by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to destroy the crops and jungle upon which the Viet Cong relied for food and cover – he decided he wanted to volunteer his time to help the children born mentally or physically handicapped due to the herbicide’s tragic and grotesque effects.“I wanted to become a teacher to do something for them,” he says, pointing out to over 40 children and teenagers at the Danang Peace Village – a center run by the Danang Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin to care for children and teenagers affected by Agent Orange.But Nguyen’s story is not typical of a thirty-something bored with a day-job and seeking a socially-responsible career break.Nguyen Nguc Phuong’s father fought in central and southern Vietnam for 10 years up to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, and sometime, somewhere along the way, came in contact with some of the 76 million liters of Agent Orange that was sprayed on the Vietnamese countryside up.As a result, Nguyen is only 95 centimeters (a little over 3 feet) tall and weighs in at a meager 20 kilograms (approximately 44 pounds). “My sister is the same size like me” he says. “When I was born I weighed only 800 grams and was less than 20cm long.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 is to be awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.

During World War One, chemical weapons were used to a considerable degree. The Geneva Convention of 1925 prohibited the use, but not the production or storage, of chemical weapons. During World War Two, chemical means were employed in Hitler’s mass exterminations. Chemical weapons have subsequently been put to use on numerous occasions by both states and terrorists. In 1992-93 a convention was drawn up prohibiting also the production and storage of such weapons. It came into force in 1997. Since then the OPCW has, through inspections, destruction and by other means, sought the implementation of the convention. 189 states have acceded to the convention to date.

===

Photo: A Vietnam-victim of Amercan chemical warfare. The U.S. chemical weapons program began during World War I. Chemical weapons production directed principally against people ended in 1969. For nine years between 1962 and 1971 approximately 20 million gallons of defoliants and herbicides were sprayed over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by the US military resulting in an estimated 400,000 people killed or maimed and 500,000 children born with birth defects as a result of what were called 'rainbow herbicides' in Operation Ranch Hand. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld helped Saddam Hussein build up his arsenal of deadly chemical and biological weapons.

For years Middle Eastern countries have accused the US of double-talk over Iraq. They are bitterly critical that the American government helped arm Saddam during the 1980s in a war against Iran, which at that time Washington regarded as its biggest enemy in the region.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry was one of the senators who fought for the right of US Veterans, exposed to Agent Orange, to achieve proper compensation. However, at the same time, Kerry is part of the US Establishment which refuses to compensate the Vietnamese for the same chemical poisoning by America’s Agent Orange.

If the Obama administration wants an example of the difficulties involved in destroying chemical weapons, it might reflect upon its own struggles to get rid of cold-war era chemical arsenals stockpiled in tightly controlled storage facilities in Kentuchy and Colorado.

The United States promised, but failed, to destroy these stocks by 2012 at the very latest. The most recent forecast from the US is that the process of "neutralising" the chemicals in its Colorado weapons dump will be finished by 2018; the date for Kentucky is 2023. That will be 11 years after the US promised to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles, and eight years after Russia – the other major possessor of declared chemical weapons – says it will have finished destroying its arsenal.

About 2,611 tons of mustard gas remains stockpiled in Pueblo, Colorado. The second stockpile, in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, is smaller – 524 tons – but more complicated to decommission, because it consists of a broader range of lethal gases and nerve agents, many of which are contained within weaponry.

08-10-13

Propaganda is a powerful weapon in war; it is used to dehumanize and create hatred toward a supposed enemy, either internal or external, by creating a false image in the mind. This can be done by using derogatory or racist terms, avoiding some words or by making allegations of enemy atrocities. Most propaganda wars require the home population to feel the enemy has inflicted an injustice, which may be fictitious or may be based on facts. The home population must also decide that the cause of their nation is just.

Photo: Victims of Agent Orange used by the US military in Vietnam - Wikipedia / The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. It was signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925 and entered into force on 8 February 1928. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 7 September 1929. The Geneva Protocol is a protocol to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907...

17-09-13

Geneva Protocol on gas warfare was signed in 1925. Whether such stocks were actually acquired is still not clear. New Zealand actively supported retention of the 'right' of chemical retaliation when the question of banning CW entirely was raised at the 1932 Disarmament Conference.

During World War 2 New Zealand was involved in research, development and production of CW weaponry.

New Zealand acquired a considerable quantity of chemical weapons. One stockpile may have accompanied the 3rd Division to the Pacific. The other main stockpile was stored at Belmont between 1942 and 1946, and included 12 770 rounds of 25 pounder mustard shell, 15 300 gas bombs for 4.2 inch mortar.The ultimate fate of this CW arsenal is not clear. Some may have been transferred to US forces in the Pacific.

In 1946 some 1500 tons of 25 pounder shells and 20 tons of mortar bombs were dumped off Cape Palliser. This would be equal to about 135,000 shells and 2200 gas bombs. A further 200 tons were dumped in Hauraki Gulf. Other gas munitions may have been dumped as late as 1957. RNZN ships apparently continue to carry tear gas munitions for riot control operations ‘in aid of the civil power’. New Zealand possibly provided defoliants for the Vietnam war.